Total Lubmarine, the marine lubricants arm of French energy giant Total, said its shipping activity in Chinas Tianjin port has resumed following the areas Aug. 12 explosion, yet is still subject to minor delays.
Total said in a Sept. 1 press release that the incident – which has claimed at least 158 lives, according to news reports – didnt damage its warehouse facilities or affect its daily internal operations.
However, the companys services in nearby ports such asHuanghua, Jingtang and Tangshan are bottlenecked as a result of the ports customs building being badly affected by the blasts. Shipments are calling for four days notice instead of three, aseach delivery is duty free and subject to a prior customs clearance, a spokesman explained.
Its customers with vessels calling at the Tianjin port itself should expect the same two-day notice period as they did before the fire.
Total Lubricant China, based in Shanghai, operates a 200,000 metric tons per year blending facility in Tianjin as well, which it says is one of Totals biggest in the world. The company has also invested around 50 million (U.S. $8 million) to build a lithium- and lithium-complex-based greases plant on the same 44,000 square-meter site by the end of this year.